The health of rivers and watersheds is an area of popular concern lately. It’s heartbreaking that such concern is needed, but I’m thankful so many care, such as the recently formed Friends of the Root River (FRR) nonprofit organization.

To get to our destination, we walked on a winding brick path through beautiful and lush foliage. But it was really hot, and as we approached our goal, I was thinking to myself, “Welcome to Bangkok!” But we weren’t over there; we were in Madison, Wis. It wasn’t only the unusual heat and humidity that were so like Thailand. It was also the building that was now right in front of us.

As summer continues past its halfway point (did you hear the catch in my voice – umm, in my writing – as I typed that?), I’ve come to establish a late afternoon routine that I enjoy very much, cruising.

There’s a new billboard above the highway we frequent the most. It says “TREATS” in huge letters on one line, and “EXCITED” in the same huge letters on the next line, with no punctuation. What in the world does that mean? Are the treats excited? Was it a misspelling and the treats exited?

I saw a car in Ames, Iowa, that was nearly covered with bumper stickers. That's why I don't have a bumper sticker on my car. Apparently, once you start putting on bumper stickers, you don't know where or when to stop. I saw a minivan in Ames that had stick figure decals of a family unit on its back window. There was a decal of the mother, two kids, a dog and a cat. It was evident that the representation of the father had been scraped off, leaving a ghostly image.

He can “speak,” indoor voice and outdoor voice. He’s got “sit” all buttoned up, with his behind planted firmly on the floor. He can “stay” all day long if you need him to, and he “fetches” like a pro – which is great. You’ll need him to fetch you some tissues when you read “All Dogs Go to Kevin” by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang.

Last Wednesday afternoon, my parents and I headed to Mankato for an evening of baseball. My nephew, Joshua, was playing with his Mankato Rays Little League team and we would join my brother and his family at a Mankato Moondogs game.

Saving deserving lands from rampant development has always been a concern and passion of mine. You’ll find me saying an under-my-breath “thank-you” when a property is saved through a land trust or conservancy process.

I plopped down in an easy chair. It was comfy, bad springs and all, and the perfect perch for me to enjoy reading a Steinbeck book I’d checked out of the library. Something made a sound as I sat down. It was the sound of something breaking. Just then, my mother walked into the room.

Mood rings, platform shoes, CBs and May the Force Be with You. Saturday Night Fever, Pac-Man, disco suits and Olivia Newton John on roller skates. If you’re of a certain age, these things bring back memories, but in the new book “A Full Life” by Jimmy Carter, this 90-year-old remembers much more.

A lot can be said about people by what they have in their grocery cart. Ask any checkout cashier and I know they can tell stories of all kinds about their customers: funny, sad, outrageous, stupid and anything else one could think up.